I think there is a natural tendency in most people to let affluence and privilege weaken their character. Hence I have to say that I am greatly impressed with the news today that Prince Harry has been on duty in Afghanistan since late December. Harry's status in life represents the pinnacle of human privilege: not only are all his material needs met, he has the additional advantage of being a member of the near-mythological British royal family. He has the adulation of the British masses (despite some of his youthful faux pas), and he could literally pick from a thousand wonderful futures for himself.
Yet he volunteers for the military, and apparently jockeys heavily for a position on the front lines of combat. Contrast this selfless and courageous behavior with the vapid wanderings of that other child of privilege whose worthless doings are plastered all over the media for no apparent reason. I salute you, Harry. This decision shows there is potential greatness in you, and I for one hope that potential is fulfilled.
Also, for those interested in that sort of thing, in most of the images that have been released Harry is using an SA-80 assault rifle, an old 5.56 mm standby for British forces. But there are some who say the Brits need an update.
I apologize for the dearth of new posts here in the past month. Since the semester finished up I've been enjoying some (or, perhaps, too much) relaxation time. I hope to dive back into some meaty topics in the New Year. In the interim, I offer a few links of interest:
Huckabashing. I visit the Drudge Report daily, but Drudge's recent string of Huck-bashing is starting to stick in my craw. RealClearPolitics says this is because Drudge is closely aligned with the Romney camp. I haven't decided who I'm supporting yet, but this just irks me. See also here.
An insignificant achievement. And now for some meaningless tooting of my own horn. I recently accomplished an elusive feat in Halo 3: a perfect game. Here are the stats for the game. My Gamertag is TheHeroicIdeal.
Feminine Appeal. Ladies, my wife has been posting about the results of using Carolyn Mahaney's Feminine Appeal in a women's Bible study. The posts are here , here, here, here, here, and here.
Her conclusion: this book is so awesome that it makes you feel bad.
Six degrees of Mr. Tumnus. Apparently C. S. Lewis had a few encounters with T. E. Lawrence at Oxford. As anyone who knows me well can attest (probably only my wife), Lewis and Lawrence are two heroes of mine, but for entirely different reasons. I admire Lewis for his mind and his wit, but Lawrence for his leadership ability. Here is an interesting bit of trivia: Lawrence was also a hero of Frank Herbert's. Herbert famously modeled Paul Atreides, the protagonist in his classic sci-fi novel Dune, on Lawrence. In the sequels to the original novels, the role of protagonist passed to Paul's more powerful son, Leto Atreides II. In recent film adaptations, both Leto Atreides and Lewis' inimitable faun Mr. Tumnus (from the Narnia series) were played by Scottish actor James McAvoy. [HT: Brandon]
Secret project. A good chunk of my time recently has been spent working on a sequel to this, which, incidentally, uses music from the Children of Dune miniseries.
I'd like to offer a quick shout-out to fellow seminary student, co-worker, and co-blogger Sean Gould, who I just saw on the local ABC affiliate here in Louisville giving glory to God for keeping him safe through the spate of bad weather we had here tonight. The TV station's website quotes him (and spells his name wrong) here.
I'd like to thank my parents, Bill Clinton and Paris Hilton.
with this one:
I'd like to thank my parents, Bill Clinton, and Paris Hilton.
The second sentence uses a serial comma, while the first one does not. The dilemma of whether or not I should use such a comma when writing always bothers me. I tend to use the serial comma, although apparently I am in the wrong to do so. More here and here.
Here is Wikipedia's list of Calvinist philosophers. The list is depressingly short, and I would characterize a few folks on the list more as Christian apologists than academic philosophers (Schaeffer, Van Til). Of course those two things are not mutually exclusive, and being an apologist rather than an academic philosopher is not necessarily a bad thing. Give me a page of Schaeffer over a thousand tomes of Rorty any day.
No new post today, so I thought I'd post a link to my Amazon.com reviews and my Amazon.com Wishlist. The reviews are mostly movies, games, and a few books. As far as the Wish List goes, I realize that every single one of you reading this would really like to buy me something off the list out of the pure, unmitigated goodness of your hearts. Therefore I authorize you to do so.
For a few weeks now, I've been trying (and mostly failing) to get up earlier so I can get my Bible study, workout, etc. done before the baby wakes up. I've been wondering how to make myself be more disciplined and consistent in this area, even going so far as to do some research into smelling salts as a way to get my lazy keister out of bed. But I just found this article which gives an interesting behavior-oriented approach to training your body to get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off, and I just might try it. B. F. Skinner would be proud.
John Mark Reynolds posts (with commentary) the full text of an interview with the celebrated feminist writer Naomi Wolf, who has apparently had a mystical experience with Christ that has radically changed her thinking. The interesting thing is that not only is Wolf a feminist bigwig, she's Jewish. Here's a quote:
She describes this mystical experience – which happened “a few years ago” – as terrifying, inexplicable and “completely not the appropriate spiritual experience of someone of my background.”
Too right. According to Judaism, Jesus is not God made flesh, or a Messianic vision. In a profane world, for anyone of Wolf’s publicly acknowledged intellect to confess to achieving spiritual fulfilment through Jesus is to invite mockery. In her native America, where interfaith rivalry informs all politics, it is a highly volatile admission. Typically of a writer who has spent a lifetime self-dramatising her experiences, Wolf’s epiphany seems to have been of Damascene proportions.
“I was completely dumbfounded but I actually had this vision of … of Jesus, and I’m sure it was Jesus.” Anticipating a raised eyebrow, she adds quickly: “But it wasn’t this crazy theological thing; it was just this figure who was the most perfected human being – full of light and full of love. And completely accessible. Any of us could be like that. There was light coming out of him holographically, simply because he was unclouded. But any of us could become that as human beings.”
Although disturbed , she was also elated. “On a mystical level, it was complete joy and happiness and there were tears running down my face. On a conscious level, when I came out of it I was absolutely horrified because I’m Jewish. This was not the thing I’m supposed to have confront me.”
Considering this experience leaves Ms. Wolf's theology a few light years from being orthodox, I'm not sure anyone should start talking about a famous feminist "converting." But perhaps God is working on her heart. Roberts counsels leaving her alone and watching what happens. I concur.
Since I've just finished struggling through two hours of reading Plato's Republic, I thought I'd post a link to Al Mohler's thoughts on reading books over at Together for the Gospel blog. To tell you the truth this is something I thought I'd never see. At Southern, the legends of Mohler's feats of reading are whispered through the halls like he's some book-reading superhero. I've heard these stories in numerous ways, and the legends only seem to grow. Here are a few of them:
He reads so much because he only sleeps 2-4 hours a night
He reads more books every week than most people read in 6 months
He developed his own speed-reading technique by combining two existing techniques into one (this one was told in class by a seminary professor)
I could go on, but the funny thing is that I think all of these are true. His personal library in the basement of his house is more extensive than many public libraries, if the legends are true. I haven't personally seen it.
One former professor of mine who shall remain unnamed was talking about his own reading habits, then complained that no one could keep up with the ridiculous reading superpowers of the "freak" Al Mohler. All this was in good humor of course.
Funny business aside, Mohler has very some good things to say about the discipline of reading. This one I particularly like, but my own mortal reading powers are probably far too pedestrian to tackle something on this scale:
Maintain regular reading projects. I strategize my reading in six main categories: Theology, Biblical Studies, Church Life, History, Cultural Studies, and Literature. I have some project from each of these categories going at all times. I collect and gather books for each project, and read them over a determined period of time. This helps to discipline my reading, and also keeps me working across several disciplines.
I think there is a natural tendency in most people to let affluence and privilege weaken their character. Hence I have to say that I am greatly impressed with the news today that Prince Harry has been on duty in Afghanistan since late December. Harry's status in life represents the pinnacle of human privilege: not only are all his material needs met, he has the additional advantage of being a member of the near-mythological British royal family. He has the adulation of the British masses (despite some of his youthful faux pas), and he could literally pick from a thousand wonderful futures for himself.
Since I've just finished struggling through two hours of reading Plato's Republic, I thought I'd post a link to Al Mohler's thoughts on reading books over at Together for the Gospel blog. To tell you the truth this is something I thought I'd never see. At Southern, the legends of Mohler's feats of reading are whispered through the halls like he's some book-reading superhero. I've heard these stories in numerous ways, and the legends only seem to grow. Here are a few of them:
